Override debate dominates School Board meeting

The Maricopa Unified School District Governing Board progressed in its discussions of an override request during its meeting Wednesday.

The board has received a recommendation for the Override Committee to seek a 15-percent override over seven years. However, the board members are still torn on which direction to go.

“There’s some things we really need to consider,” board member Annamarie Knorr said. “One of them is the amount of voters in an off year. Getting yes votes costs money. Every yes vote costs money and you have to educate people regarding an override. I know the committee wanted 2016, but I think we need to set ourselves up with success.”

Since more voters turn out for general elections on even years, Knorr believed it would be more cost effective to hold the election in an odd year. Board member Torri Anderson was also leaning toward pushing the override to 2017, but not for the same reason.

She referenced a statewide special election already scheduled in May. That will ask voters to approve a lawsuit resolution that led to the Legislature’s education funding plan of $3.5 billion through 2026.

“Knowing that voters are already going to be going to the polls on May 17, voters have a very long memory when it comes to funding education,” Anderson said. “I believe 2017 would be better just because they’ll already think, ‘I already voted in May for education, so I don’t need to vote in November for education.’ So the percentage of ‘no’ votes would go up.”

For other members of the board, the issue of timing seemed less important.

“For me, it’s not necessarily when we’re going to [hold the vote],” board member Gary Miller said. “For me, in terms of strategy, my point of concern is the percentage.”

After a lengthy debate, the board made the decision to put the override as an action item for their next meeting. They have discussed the details of the override for the last two meetings and decided it was time to move forward with a plan.

“There’s a large number of people out there that are interested in the possibility of an override for MUSD,” MUSD superintendent Steve Chestnut said. “I’m not ready to make a recommendation (on the percentage) just yet, but I believe the seven-year term is a good idea.”

The board also asked to hear from the parents and community members who have concerns. They hope to receive as much public feedback as they can before making their final decision.

Aside from the override debate, the Governing Board honored Eagle Scout candidate Noah Huffaker for donating computer monitors to the school. Huffaker gathered old, functional computer monitors and gave them to MUSD.

The board also honored Samantha Ross with a HOPE Certificate for her work with the district.

“Samantha Ross has spent hundreds of hours in our schools coordinating a ‘Meet the Masters’ art program,” Knorr said. “It’s an amazing program where they focus on a different artist each month. She gets parent volunteers together and she teaches the lesson to them and they go into the classroom and teach the lesson to the kids. It really filled the void, especially when we went through those tough budget cuts.”

Torri Anderson said Ross was a hero, and public education needs its heroes right now.

The MUSD Governing Board will reconvene Nov. 18 at 6:30 p.m.